Dallas Cowboys: Jason Garrett Report Card After Team's First Win

The Dallas Cowboys win over the New York Giants was one of the most unlikely events to happen on Sunday afternoon.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones fired embattled head coach Wade Phillips and promoted offensive coordinator Jason Garrett earlier in the week, and there was talk that even a few players may be released.

The Cowboys record sat at 1-7 before Sunday, and many fans and pundits believed the Cowboys season was all but over. Many felt that Garrett was part of the problem in Dallas and needed to be relieved of his duties along with Phillips.

But once Garrett was given the job, there seemed to be a shift in attitude.

His first press conference as head coach was sturdy, pointed, and most of all, it was controlled. Jason was turning into the coach that the Cowboys needed.

Sunday would be Garrett’s coming out party, if you will. Jason was criticized for his inability to run the ball in the previous eight games, but on Sunday, the Cowboys ran tough for 103 yards with running back Felix Jones leading the way.

There were calls for Jones to become the starting running back over Marion Barber, but Phillips would never pull the trigger. On Sunday, Garrett made the switch and Felix did not disappoint. Not only did he have 51 rushing yards but he also had a 71-yard touchdown scamper off of a screen pass from quarterback Jon Kitna.

Garrett’s play sheet was balanced, as he called 27 running plays to 22 passing plays. That was a sharp contrast to what we’ve seen over the past eight games, but that may have been because starting quarterback Tony Romo is out with a broken collar bone and Jason doesn’t fully trust the offense with Jon Kitna.

The Cowboys defense also looked like a totally different outfit on Sunday. Wade Phillips was the Cowboys defensive coordinator up until his firing and the defense had turned into nothing short of an embarrassment, as Dallas was outscored 80-24 in the span of two games.

Yesterday, the Cowboys “held” the Giants to 480 total yards under new defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni’s direction. But what’s best for Dallas is that the Giants only scored 20 points and committed three turnovers.

One of the biggest moments in the game came when rookie cornerback Bryan McCann intercepted an Eli Manning pass and scampered 101 yards for a touchdown. “Rookie” head coach Jason Garrett ran down the sideline in excitement with McCann as he ran toward glory.

How bout them Cowboys?

Garrett may or may not be the answer in Big D, but he’s exactly what the Cowboys need right now.

Various reports out of Dallas say that Garrett isn’t the most liked guy in the locker room, and that’s probably a good thing for a team that couldn’t say enough about Wade Phillips. Everybody loved Wade because he was such a nice guy, but he was reluctant to hold his players accountable, and Garrett seems to be the antithesis of Phillips.

Overall Garrett deserves an A-plus for his performance on Sunday night. He showed emotion and had a great hold of everything that went on in the game, something that Phillips seemed to struggle with. Well, at least his facial expressions did.

Well done, Jason Garrett, but his real test will be when the Cowboys lose their next game. How will the team respond to his hard-nosed approach when that happens?

-JH

Join Jason every Monday night at 8pm ET for “Monday Night Quarterback” on www.blogtalkradio.com/cowboyjay.

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